Reminiscence
by LucreciaLollipop
Summary: Shin feel's he's living a tortured life now that his beloved Alice was gone. He was in a band and doing what he loved, but he felt an emptiness inside of him, the guilt of a man who caused the death of his best friend and girl he loved. Cinema Bizarre FF
1. Prologue

I first met Alice when I was 4. My mother's old friend from high school had just moved back to Germany and we had gone to visit him and his daughter. If you ask me, I was a bit of an odd time to be moving.

They found it the funniest thing that she was 9 days older than me. Found it amusing that both of their children had been born so very close to each other.

She spoke very little German, seeing as she grew up in America with only one German speaking parent. I spoke absolutely no English, so communication was difficult in the beginning. But eventually she picked it up, slowly but surely.

We'd always hang out together, all day, everyday. Her favorite activity as a child was making Mud Pies. As we grew older, she turned more and more into a punk video game nerd. She loved music with her whole being, and always told me I should be in a band. She was very passionate about these sorts of things. So I began playing the drums, which I always loved anyhow.

She lived only with her dad. Her mother lived back in America. When they had moved here some years ago, her parent's had devorced. It wasn't the happiest of subjects for her. Her mother seemed to have been very important to her, yet she refused to go hack to the States to visit her. I could never figure out why she seemed to hate the thought so much and look so terribly sad about her decision every time.

It wasn't until high school, I believe, that I'd realized that I was in love with her. She was always so energetic it was hard to keep up with her. And she was always smiling. She was also very beautiful, my Alice.

She had the most unusual look. She kept her hair short, about shoulder length. One side grew in a silky black, and the other a creamy frost blond, like a natural version of platinum blond. It wasn't dyes or hair products, it was her natural hair.

Her eyes were every bit as strange. One being a grey-blue and the other a blue-green. Though every now and again they would change into the most peculiar Crystal Blue. It was the oddest sight.

Her face was gorgeous, so lovely it could shame that of an angels. Her eyes were large with long luscious lashes. Her lips were soft and thick, but not too thick. She had pale, pale skin, like the moon on deep still water.

She was always wearing a punk fashion. The typical plaid shorts with striped stocking and thigh high boots. A striped shirt with another sleeveless shirt on over it and a tie with skull and cross bones. The typical not-so-typical look.

I can still see it in my head. The lights that had blinded me, froze me in my tracks. Like a deer on the highway. The man in the car that took her away from me. It was my life that was intended. I heard her scream my name before shoving me out of the way and inevitably taking my place on deaths roster.

I remember waking in the hospital shortly afterwords. My arm was in a cast, and at first I hadn't remembered what happened. Then it all flooded back.

Where was everyone? Where was I? And most importantly, where was Alice?

That's when my mom walked in. She looked at me with a worried expression.

"Thank God your okay!" She said as she rushed to hug me.

"Mom, what happened? Is everyone alright?" I asked, hugging her back.

"A drunk driver, that's what happened. You're lucky to have come out of a scuffle like that with only a broken arm and a minor head injury."

"How is everyone else? And Alice, how is she?"

That's when I knew. My mother looked at the blanket, and tears welled up in her eyes. She began nervously crumpling the paper in her hand.

My Alice, my sweet Alice. My best friend and the girl I loved. I never got to tell her, and now she was gone.

"She died on the spot... The car hit her head on at 70 MPH. She didn't have a chance, the poor girl." She started bawling.

I'll never get to see her again. Never see her angelic face, or her odd hair and eyes. I'll never get to see her bounce up and down all over the place, or get to tell her how I feel. I'll never get to hold her close to me, or sit and watch endless hours of Japanese movies with her in the basement.

She was forever lost to the world. And forever lost to me. 


	2. The Girl

Shinya walked quietly down the hallway. His hair was dyed platinum blond, and his eyes a lovely shade of green. He had luminous pale skin and a lovely complexion. His face was angular and very innocent.

He was wearing a white tank top with a matching white sleeveless Visual Kei jacket and pants.

He was tall and slender, but had good arm muscles. This made sense, seeing as he was a drummer.

He played in a band called Cinema Bizarre. They were fairly popular, considering they're few years as a band. He loved the drums, playing them was his greatest joy in life.

Shin turned the corner into a dressing room. Tonight was their first show in Berlin in over a month.

Another band member came running up behind him. Yukiru, Yu, patted Shin on the back while hopping into the room.

Wish the addition of Shin and Yu, the entire band was present. Strify; the singer, Kiro; the bassist, Yu; the guitarist, Romeo; the keyboardist, and Shin; the drummer.

Sadly, the original keyboardist, Luminor, had left the band. He left due to some health issue, and since then Romeo, Yu's soul brother and best friend, had been playing with us.

'She would have been so excited. She always thought I should be in a band. And I'm sure she would have loved them and them her as well.' Shin thought to himself, looking at his band mates.

"What's on your mind Shin? You look a bit depressed." Kiro asked, a worried look on his face.

"Nothing to worry about Kiro." Was Shin's only reply, a slight smile presenting itself of his face.

Kiro looked at him, doubt plain on his face. But he nodded and went on with his business. Whatever it was, Shin obviously didn't want to talk about it.

Finn knocked lightly on the door and popped his head in.

"You re on in 5 guys." He said, and then disappeared.

Shin glanced at the wall, imagining her propped up against it smiling and giving him 2 thumbs up.

"Good Luck, and have fun." He could almost hear it.

"You guys ready?" Strify said, pulling on his sailor hat and walking out the door. The others followed after him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The show had gone great and the boys were weary. Strify flopped on the couch between Yu and Kiro, Romeo slouched on a chair and Shin took a spot curled up on the floor like a cat.

"You did great out there."

Shin sat bolt upright suddenly, making the others jump. That was unmistakably her voice. But that was impossible.

"Dude, Shin, what was that all about?" Romeo looked at him, his eyebrow raised questionably.

"Nothing, it wasn't anything. I... There was a spider on the floor, that's all." Shin looked down ad he said it, as if searching for it.

"A spider!!?! Where!?" Kiro squealed and he jumped and cowered behind Strify.

"Nowhere, I killed it." Shin replied.

"Shin, you've been acting strange all day, you ok?" Strify asked, concerned with Shin's health and well being.

"I'm perfectly fine guys, why do you keep asking me this?" Shin was beginning to get a bit aggravated.

"We're just worried about you Shin." Yu said, sitting up on the couch so he could properly look at his friend.

"Well don't be. I'm perfectly fine, just a little bit tired, nothing to be worried about."

"Shi..."

"If you say so. Just tell us if you need anything." Strify said, cutting off whatever it was Kiro was about to argue with him about.

"Thanks." He said as he laid back down.

'Why now?' Shin asked himself, once he was certain the others were done.

'After all this time, why am I hallucinating about her now? That WAS Alice, make no mistake.' She turned on his side and stared at the carpet, playing with and pulling some of the small strings.

Shin pondered over this for the next several days. In the end he decided it was because he had been thinking about her too much lately and he had been overly exhausted after the show, which is what made him imagine her voice.

He kept on this reasoning, that is, until a few weeks later. He, Strify, Kiro and Yu were out shopping for a birthday present for Romeo.

His birthday was in only a few weeks, and they had been out all day. They visited shop after shop after shop.

At the time, there were in the car, on their way to their next destination. While crossing over the bridge, that was when Shin noticed her. 


	3. The Other Girl

She was dressed in a maid style Lolita dress, with a typical head dress, a pair of black and white 'charade' shoes and stripped stockings. He had always wished Alice would dress in something of the sort, she would have looked so cute. But alas, they were "too frilly" for her taste.

This girl looked just like Alice. She had her angelic face, her strange eyes and even stranger hair. Was she real? Was she another hallucination or a Ghost perhaps?

She was standing in the direct center of the bridge, her arms raised and her hands cupping the area around her ears, yet not touching her head. It was as if she was trying to listen for something that wasn't far, but not near, something difficult to hear.

Shin stared at the girl as long as the moving vehicle would allow him to.

This girl, who was she? The only difference he had seen between her and his beloved Alice was their hair and eye color had been flopped.

Alice's blond was on the left side with the Grey/blue eye, leaving the black and blue/green eye on the right. This girl's hair had been flipped, with the black hair and blue/green eye on the left and blond hair and Grey/blue eye the right.

'Who could she be, having Alice's most distinguishing and peculiar features? Could it be dye? Was she cosplaying?' He asked himself, going over the image of this strange girl in his mind again and again.

'None of the fans know about Alice, I don't think. Who could she have been? How could she have found out?' He pondered this until Kiro tapped him on the shoulder.

"You coming?" He asked, his head popped in the doorway of the car.

Shin looked around a moment and realized they had arrived, and the others were waiting on him.

"Yeah..." He said, and started out.

'Probably just another hallucination. A distorted one.' Shin thought as he exited the car, on the way to yet another store.

Only a few days later, around the same time as the last, Shin saw her again. She was standing in the same place, in the direct middle of the bridge facing off one side to the river.

Once again, her hands were floating around her head. She had her eyes closed and was focusing quite intently on whatever it was she was trying to listen for.

Shin stared at her through the window of the car once more, passing by much faster than before. He had no chance of stopping the car and discovering who this strange girl was.

'Well,' he thought 'that's twice now. I wonder if this means she'll be here around the same time tomorrow?'

He went over her image in his head as he had done the last time he saw her, trying to nit pic for details, hints, anything.

Today she was wearing an Alice in Wonderland themed Lolita dress, little cards lined the bottom of the skirt with random crowns, teapots and suits floating around the rest of the fabric. She was wearing the same stripped stocking as the previous time and a pair of rockinghorse dollies. Her hair had been pulled into two ringlet pigtails, and her band pulled back to one side by a little star clip.

She was quite adorable, as he had always imagined Alice would be, in those clothes. Everything seemed to suit her to a 't'.

'I'll come back tomorrow. Hopefully she'll be here.' He thought while absently staring out the window as the scenery passed by.

Shin got up early the next morning and prepared himself. He started out with a nice, relaxing shower and a light breakfast. The he went to his room to dress himself.

For the day he decided on a black 'Dir en Grey' shirt and a pair of ripped up old jeans, something any average Joe teen would wear, rather than his usual Visual Kei. To complete his outfit, he wore a black wig. It was multi-useful, it fit the theme and helped keep him hidden from the public and fans.

"Where you headed Shin?" Strify asked while Shin was about to walk out the door.

"A place full of bad memories." He replied as he pulled the door shut.

'Lot's of bad memories.' he thought with a sigh.

Shin made his way to the bridge where the girl had been the last two time's he had spotted her. He walked fast enough to get there around the same time he had passed by in the car, but not any faster. He was obviously in no hurry.

As he approached the bridge a sudden shiver shot down his spine. The place was one he did not like traveling around on foot.

'This is where it happened...' His gaze slowly traveled down to his feet.

'This is where she died...' He sighed and forced back some tears.

He had promised himself long ago he would cry no more about it, but she was his best friend, and the girl he loved. The feat was a hard one.

Shin slowly began making his way up the side of the bridge, and as planned, to her. To the strange girl who looked like his Alice. Would she have any other resemblance to Alice, other that her looks?

As Shin hit the middle of the bridge, she was no where to be seen. He looked left and right, but she wasn't there.

'Maybe I was wro...' He turned to get a better look.

There she was, walking up the side of the bridge with a lovely smile on her face, like sunshine. She was almost skipping to her usual spot on the bridge, humming away to 'sweet dream' as she went.

It wasn't until she noticed him, did all that slip away. When she opened her eyes and saw him she stopped dead in her tracks, her smile fading away like an unwanted memory. 


	4. The Encounter

Shin stood there, looking at a mirror image of his beloved Alice. And this girl stared back at him, her eyes shifting a little bit uneasily.

Shin tried to say something, but nothing would come out. And he was having troubles breathing, like someone had shoved a baseball down his throat.

Today's Lolita dress had been music themed. The bottom of the skirt had keyboard keys around the rim and the rest of the fabric was littered with music notes. She was once again wearing those stipped stocking she seemed to favor and a pair of Mary-Janes. She had her blonde side pulled back into a half pigtail and a star clip, the black side remained untouched other than a mini crown off to one side.

She walked up to Shin and gently ran her hand down his cheek, and along the curve of his jaw.

Say his name... You know who he is... Shin... Shin...

She lifted her head up and looked at him, her hand resting on his neck. Her eyes had changed to that strange crystal blue Alice's sometimes turned.

"I'm so sorry I had to leave you, Shin.." Her eyes began to glisten with tears. "But it was not your time to go, I couldn't allow it. Please forgive me."

Tears began falling, making her face sparkle in the sun. Her eyes reverted back to their origonal color and she let her hand drop. She ran past him, going heaven knows where.

Shin stood there a moment, shocked and dumbfounded. Was it truly her? Truly his Alice? It couldn't be.

He put his hand where hers had trailed down his face, he could still feel the warmth. He turned, hoping to still see her, but she had vanished.

'Who is she? She looks like Alice, she sounds like Alice. But that wasn't Alice. Alice never smiled like that, and Alice never smelled like Vanilla.'

Shin slowly walked back down the bridge, making his was to his favorite Cafe. He always went there when he needed to think.

It was a small Anime Cafe called "Broken DreamZ." Alice's father owned the place, and Shin loved it there. That atmosphere was always very calming and he loved the smell of all the sweets.

He walked into the small stained glass Cafe. The tables have always looked the same, with their little pink, cake printed table cloths. And their decorative chairs.

All the waitresses dressed in pink uniforms with cake shaped aprons and mini-hats. Everything here was pink and brown, it was the Cafe's theme colors.

He sat down at a nearby table, staring out through the stained glass.

It had been a while since he visited here last. The memory of Alice was too strong here, she lingered in this building like no other place. She loved this cafe with all her heart. She always said it reminded her of 'her'.

'I never quite understood her sometimes. She really loved her mother. She always had a smile on her face when talking about 'her' but she never said anything else.' Shin sighed again, this was turning out to be quite the day.

He looked around the cafe for a bit, remembering every detail. The glass was clean as ever and the walls still had the cute little pink wallpaper that ofset the soft light brown carpet. There was a wall in the back lines with computers and another room off to the side filled with manga.

Alice loved sitting in that room for hours reading all the different styles of manga. Her goal was to plow through every book on those shelves.

She'd grab one and curl up on a window seat that could almost be doubled at a small bed and read for hours. You could tell how sad a book was to her by how often she'd rest her head up against the window and read. Or if it was really happy she'd sit foward and lean over the book.

Sometimes if one really irritated her she'd scowl and throw it across the way and not go and pick it up for at least a half an hour. She stare out the window with her arms crossed and act like nothing was wrong.

In the end she'd sigh lightly and go pick the book up, making sure it's in order and dusting it off. She'd hug it before she'd put it back on the shelf and make her way to get something sweet to calm herself.

Shin sighed as the memories came back. A waitress walked up and asked him if he would like anything then.

He ordered a small cup of his favorite Pumpkin Spice Smoothie and a slice of cheesecake. After his first bite, he meerely poked at it with his desert fork and stared blankly.

All of a sudden the victory tune from Final Fantasy went off, causing Shin to jump. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

He flipped it open and looked at the small screen, but there was nothing there. No messages, no missed calls, no voice mails. Nothing.

It confused him quite a bit. He looked around and no one else seemed to have checked their phones, so it must have been his.

Shin scowled a moment and looked at the screen again. There was nothing at all.

'Maybe I pressed the volume button..' He said before sliding the phone back in his pocket and going back to poking at his cheesecake.

All of a sudden, the sound went off again. Shin grabbed his phone quickly and checked it. Nothing, but the sound was still going off.

"Hello?" It sounded like Alice.

"I'm right here papa.. I'll be over in a second." A small giggle and a click of a phone shut. 


	5. People Talk

For a moment, Shin's heart stopped. She sounded the same, and different. Her voice had more of a melodic ring to it, like a good singers.

He turned and looked around, but there was nothing to be seen. He turned back and began poking at his cheesecake a little more.

'Why did I come here?' He thought, turning once more to staring out the window.

It took him a minute to focus, but he realized that the girl leaving the cafe was the girl from the bridge.

She was walking quite fast through the crowds on the street, as if trying to run from something.

'Maybe she isn't just a ghost?' He jumped up to chase after her, only to be stopped by Alice's dad.

"Shin! How long has it been?" He said in a booming voice.

Alice's dad was quite tall, somewhere around 6'4 or so, if not taller. He was slender but bulky the same, it was an odd look, but suited him well. He had shoulder length jet black hair tied back in a ponytail and emerald green eyes.

He was standing behind Shin with a large grin on his face, almost as if to eat someone, but be friendly about it.

"Hallo Mr. Kreuz. How are you?" She said with a meek smile.

"Doing good! How about yourself youngling'? Heard you joined a band, gettin quite famous!" He gave an odd sort of smile, "Finally mapping out some women?" He finished with a wink.

Shin laughed at this, his whole face turning red during the process.

"N... no!" He hiccupped and wiped his eye, "Not at all. I don't want to get involved just yet. I'll stick with my drums."

"Have fun with that. How long you stayin boy? I can whip up some of your favorite flan."

"I'd love that.." Shin began, "But I should probably get back before my band mates call the police and say I've gone M.I.A. They're very weird like that. If I'm not around the house for an hour I MUST be lost somewhere. Last time it happened I was at the library reading." He sighed a bit with the last and looked up.

"I've got to get going." He smiled slightly.

"Come back soon Shin. I miss seeing your face around here, even if it isn't accompanied by Alice's." He said, a bit of a sad smile on his face, "But I still like seeing ya boy."

Shin nodded briskly and turned to the door.

"Call ahead of time next time and I'll prepare your flan Shin!" He boomed behind him.

"Will do Mr. Kreuz!" He said while closing the door to the cafe behind him.

He had walked for a while before remembering his quest to find the girl.

'Damnit. I forgot all about that!' He whacked himself in the face and turned around and smacked into someone.

"I'm so sorry miss!" He stood up and went to offer his hand to the girl.

She was slender and had brown hair to her waist. Her skin was a creamy brown, and her eyes a shade of blue so strange it almost looked purple. She was dressed in the basic t-shirt and jeans with a pair of red and black stripped converse.

"I'm sorry! OMG, what have I done? I'm so CLUMSY sometimes!" She said as she took his hand and jumped up.

Shin was dusting himself off when she walked up and patted off his back.

"I'm so sorry, I really am careless." The girls voice was a bit squeaky, but it had a deep ring to it.

"It's fine," Shin began, "honestly, it is. Accident's happen." He smiled at the girl a bit and she flushed bright red.

"You... you're Shin... from Cinema Bizarre, aren't you?" She looked down at her feet as she said this.

'Uh oh, this is bad. Someone's recognized me.'

"Ye...yeah. How'd you know?" He looked around nervously.

"Your disguise isn't that well put together. You should of put on some movie make-up and a bit longer wig. And changed up your clothing style a bit." She said as she pointed, her voice no longer squeaky, but professional.

"Uhm... ok.." He said, confusion plain on his face.

"Oh!" She squeaked, "I'm sorry. My name is Toni and I'm a make-up artist. I was looking for my Nee-Chan when I bumped into you." She bowed, "Not to be mean or anything, but you don't have to worry about me knowing who you are. I'm not a fan, but my Nee-Chan is. It's the only reason I recognized you."

Shin sighed with relief, his identity wasn't quite in danger yet.

"I would stay and help you find your Nee-Chan if I could, but I've got to get back." He said with a smile.

She meeped.

"N... NO! That's... not necessary. Please, go on your way." She bowed again.

'That was an odd reaction...'

Shin smiled and made his way back to the house, and just as he suspected, Strify and Kiro were tearing up the place.

Kiro was the first to notice Shin was home. He ran up to him and put his hands on his shoulders and looked up at his friend, his eyes dripping with tears.

"Shin! There you are! We thought you might have been kidnapped! You were gone so long!" Kiro hugged Shin and cried.

Strify walked over and looked at Shin, worry covering his face. He put a hand over his mouth and cried quietly behind Kiro.

"I'm so glad your safe." Strify said softly and began sobbing into his hands.

Shin rolled his eyes and pried Kiro off him. He left the two of them huddled together in a heap crying in front of the door.

Romeo walked up and smiled at Shin.

"I told them they were over reacting and you were fine." He said as he walked by.

"Yeah, they're just overly dramatic sometimes." Yu said while walking past Shin.

Shin sighed a bit and went to his room and holed up like usual.

He was about to go take a shower when his phone rang. The melody of the song '30 Minutes' by t.A.T.u. played.

Shin stopped, his heart thudding in his chest. That was preset as Alice's ring.

Shin walked over to his phone. No name showed, just a number, as the song continued.

He opened his phone and looked at the screen, it was a voice message.

'But... it... she... it... can't.. be.. her. It just.. can't.. be.' He clicked the button and listened to the voice message, tears welling up in his eyes. 


	6. Words of a Sad Love

"Shin, you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened. I ofrgive you, though this was never truly your fault. You had so much talent, I couldn't let that go away. Please forgive me, I was trying to do what was best for you. Shin, I always loved you, but it's time to move on."

Shin closed his phone gently and sat on his bed. He didn't know what to do, he didn't so much know what to think.

Alice had been gone so long, that number had to belong to somone else by now. And that message was so strange, it couldn't have been pre-recorded and set to send to him on a certain date like they used to do.

Shin layed down on his bed and stared at the picture of him and Alice hanging above his bed.

The two of them were 13 in the picture, having a picnic in the park. Alice was grinning and holdingh a tea pot, while Shin was splurting tea all over the place. Alice had a major sweet tooth and was in charge of the tea, so naturally she over sweetened it to the point of being discusting.

"Would you like some tea with that sugar?" Would be the appropriate phrase for her.

"Nobody hurts me like you do, Nobody knows me as well as you. I'm staring out into the blue, I'm sorting files of what we knew."

Shin sat up suddenly and grabbed a couple of pieces of paper and a pencil from his bedside table, then copied the words from his head onto the paper. A song... in commemoration of her. Perfect.

"My futures long, my futures torn. My dissapointment knows it all. I'm stuck, I'm locked I'm paralized, the gate is closed I'm left outside. Heaven is wrapped in chains, I won't get in, you won't let me. Heaven is wrapped in chains, and I just can not find the key."

When Shin finished, he sung ait a bit, just a few bars, though he thought every note sounded awful.

Strify walked into the room when Shin finished. He'd come to check on Shin, to see if he was alright, when he'd heard the song.

"I didn't know you wrote songs Shin... It's very good, very powerful. Could I try singing it?" Strify went to sit on the bed with Shin.

Shin handed Strify the piece of paper he'd recorded his words on. Strify studied it a moment before he began singing.

"I really like this, can we use it?" Strify asked while studying the paper once more.

Shin just nodded his head.

"On one condition. You've got to think of the person you care about most when you sing it." Shin said as he grabbed his towel and some fresh clothes from his dresser.

" 'Heaven is Wrapped in Chains' Shin... How did you come up with this?" Strify looked up at him.

"She helped me." He left the room and headed towards the bathroom.

Kiro was on the couch reading his twilight books for the 5th time this week, Romeo was in the kitchen cooking dinner and Yu was in his room on the phone with his girlfriend, Vanessa.

They seemed so happy, doing whatever they were doing. Kiro so content with his books, and Romeo cooking up a storm that promices to be an excelent meal, Yu and his girlfriend, and Strify has his music.

Shin wondered why his peace never seemed to show up anymore. He always used to be so carefree and peaceful all the time. He has lots of fun with these guys, but there is still that missing element he can't put his finger on.

He locked the bathroom door and began undressing.

'Why is there never anything truly comforting anymore? It can't be that difficult.'

He stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water and soaked in it for a time.

'Could it be because of the accident? Or maybe this Alice imposter.. I wonder who she is, the girl who smells of vanilla and smiled like a sparklig angel. Alice's smiles were always genuinely happy, but they never glowed as if she were truly happy as this girls did. She smiled as if the world was perfect. Or like a mother would when she first meets her child, so peaceful and joyus. So... perfect..'

Shin grabbed his shampoo and scrubbed his hair while pondering this.

He pictured her in his head, her face had gone completely blank when she saw him, like watching the life run out of a person. Everything about her screamed Alice. The way she moved, the way she looked at me, the way she spoke. It was almost eerie.

Shin stepped out of the shower and wrapped his spongebob towel around his waist. He turned to the mirror and staired at his foggy reflection.

'What am I gonna do? I can't really find her, I tried that already. She might not even go back there now that I've found her there once.'

Shin bit his lip nearly to the point of bleeding. Once again Alice's song rung on his phone, causing his to jump a foot.

He rummaged through his pockets a minute before remembering that his phone was on his dresser.

He opened the bathroom door, not bothering to get dressed first, and swiftly walked towards his room. Strify had appeared in the doorway a moment before Shin had gotten there, carrying Shin's phone.

"Hey Shin... Who's 'My Little Sugar Princess'?" Strify asked, holding up Shin's phone so the screen was facing him.

"Whoa... 'My Little Sugar Princess'? Shin, who knew you actually associated with girl?" this was from Yu, who strode over to them with a grin on his face, as if to say "Good Boy." or "I'm proud of you."

Shin scowled at the both of them and snatched his phone away. It had been a text message this time...

'Saturday 7 DONT FORGET!

~Queen of Sweets" 


	7. Pieces of Life

"Saturday at seven?"Strify smiled, "Now, when did you get a girlfriend?"

"I used to meet her at the video arcade every Saturday night at 7 'o clock. WE'd stay there for about an hour, then get some dinner and watch a movie in her basement, but she was never my girlfriend." Shin sighed and walked back into the bathroom to finish getting dressed.

'Though I wish she had been. Saturday is just the day after tomorrow. Maybe this mystery will finally be solved then.'

The next day and half a day after seemed yo pass agonizingly slow for Shin. He was too close yo cracking this all wide open.

Though Strify seemed completely mystifyed by the song Shin had wrote, and been too busy practacing to bother Shin about the girl and what was happenening Saturday, the others were a different story.

Kiro kept on about who she was while Yu was bothering him about weither he'd gotten any yet or if he could tag along and she could bring some pretty girlfriend for him to hang out with.

'I wonder how they would react if I told them the truth about all this...' Shin asked himself while getting himself ready for his "date."

Today he wore a waist length red wig that was strait at the top but the bottom was a mass of ringlets. With it he worse a plain tank and a pair of slightly ripped blue jeans, a pair of regular converse and a baggy sweatshirt. To finish this all off, his did his make-up slightly feminine, rather than his typical bold black.

At first glance you would think he was a woman, even the other band members seemed to agree when he walked in the room.

Yu had jumped a foot off the couch when he saw Shin, screaming some obscenetiesabout how a girl got in, Kiro was gaping, and Romeo looked dumbfounded. Strify was still in his room practacing, so he didn't get to see.

It wasn't until laughed at their reactions did any of them realize it was him.

'Guess that girl knows what she's talking about.'

"Oh my gawd, Shin! I thought you were some crazy fan girl who'd managed to sneak in here!!" Yu sputtered.

"You know..." Shin laughed, "If I was a fan girl who'd wondered in here, I'm not sure I'd still be one when I left... what with the way you reacted Yuki."

Yu scowled at Shin as Romeo and Kiro laughed.

"Ciao boys. 3" Shin said in the girliest voice he could manage, with a wink, a smile and a girly finger wave.

Shin walked out the door, leaving Yu, Kiro and Romeo gaping after him as if they'd just been struck.

Strify waltzed out of his room to get a drink so he could continue practacing when he knowticed the dumb looks on their faces.

"What's up with you three?"

Shin walked to the arcade where him and Alice would meet up Satuday nights. During the day Alice would attend a prep school about an hour outside of Berlin, so they only had the nights to hang out.

He had about an hour or so before he had to be there, so he decided to walk around a bit beforehand.

It had only been 5 minutes before he felt something slam into him from behind.

"Oh dear... I can't believe I did it again! I'm so sorry!"

Shin turned around nd laughed. Toni, the squeeky girl from the other day was dusting herself off.

"Oh, it's you again." She smiled meekly, "You did much better this time."

"Thanks, I took your advise."

"Oooh, yay."

"Are you looking for your Nee-Chan again?" Shin tried for a girly voice this time, so the people that were passing them wouldn't notice anything, whice caused Toni to burst out laughing.

"Hehee.. yup. She's always randomly disappearing."

"Well, how about I help you look for her this time?"

"Uhm... thank you very much." She bowed an they were off.

"So what's she like?"

"Hmm? Who, my Nee-Chan?"

"Yeah, she keeps ditching you and all, doesn't sound like a very nice person."

"Huh? Oh no! Nee-Chan would never do anything like that! She's kind and beautiful and fun and sweet and what not. I'm the one whose always getting lost."

"You like her that much? That you would blame yourself? She's just your sister."

"Actually, we're not really related. I just call her my Nee-Chan. She's just a friend of mine, but she's amazing. She brought me along with her to Germany for my birthday."

"I see. Then why do you call her your Nee-Chan?"

"Oh! Cause she's like an older sister to me. We're a group of four, you see. There is Nee-Chan and Nii-Chan and Usagi-Chan and myself. Nee-Chan and Usagi-Chan have been best friends since they were little things. Nee-Chan, Nee-Chan's older sister and Usagi-Chan. Then Nee-Chan meet Nii-Chan, whom to her is Tou-Chan, short for Ototo-Chan, and then me. And we've been friends since day one, back when she saved me from the school bully in elementry."

"Whoa, slow doen, your confusing me."

She meeped and blushed.

"Sorry."

"It's fine, go ahead, you were saying?"

"Well, to be honest, there isn't much else to really say. Nee-Chan and Usagi-Chan have been nearly inseperable since they were born, but recently Nee-Chan hasn't quite herself. Well... I guess it isn't so much recently, as it is since the accident a few year back. She's somewhat distant, from everyone, like she doesn't want to get too close."

"What happened to her?"

"WE... you see... Ne..." Toni stopped and her eyes sparkled for a second and she staired somewhere out into the distance. "NEE-CHAN!"

Toni bolted away from Shin's side and tackled a girl standing in front of the arcade. Shin took a look at the girl staring at him with sorrow in her eyes and realized that Toni's "Nee-Chan" was the mystery girl he'd been chasing. 


	8. A Word for the Wise

The girl smiled at Toni as she reached her. The two of them hugged and said something to each other. Toni then pointed over in Shin's direction and the two headed over. Shin didn't know quite what to think. By the time the two had arrived next to him, the girl's smile had slipped and a slight blush had crept in.

"Nee-Chan! Nee-Chan! This is the one that helped Toni find you." She smiled almost cat like at Toni looked at her Nee-Chan.

"It's very nice to meet the one Toni was rambling about. My name is Reila." Shin tried to use his girliest voice while speaking to her, hoping that his disguise did not falter and he could discover who this girl was.

He had just blurted the first girl name that came to mind, which happened to be the name of a song from The GazettE he enjoyed. With the way she looked at him he wasn't sure if she knew it was him or not, perhaps she knew the song and thought it funny I had used the name. She had this confused look on her face as she stared at him.

"I... see. I am Lucrecia, Lulu. It is a pleasure to meet you." She looked at him a moment longer, then bowed.

Shin had gulped when she spoke, for she sounded almost exactly like Alice. Her voice more melodic, but still very close. Toni grinned from ear to ear, which I took as an agreement that her Nee-Chan had not caught on to who I was. She turned to her Nee-Chan, whose arm she had been gripping this entire time and laughed.

"Hey Nee-Chan, you wanna go to the shop?" Toni jumped a bit as she spoke.

"Oh, yes. I believed we were heading there anyhow, when you disappeared. I'm glad you found me though. I was looking everywhere for you. It's already 7, and Papa was wondering where we were." She smiled at Toni and turned to "Reila".

"Would you like to join us?" She smiled at Shin, but it was a sad smile.

He only nodded. He was afraid of how he would sound, what he would say, if he tried to speak. She nodded and cocked her head to one side, then turned and they were off. It wasn't a very long journey to Shin, for he was mesmerized with her. It took him a moment to realize where they were. He looked up at Broken DreamZ Cafe and his eyes widened.

They all walked in and Alice's father was there waiting for them.

"Where have you girls been? I was worried sick. Didn't I ask you to be home earlier tonight?" He sighed and looked at them with a worried look on his face.

"I'm sorry Papa, Toni and I got separated again and I was looking for her." Lucrecia laid her head on top of Toni's.

Mr. Kreuz scowled a touch and then smiled at them slightly. He walked over and hugged the two in a near death embrace.

"I'm glad you look after each other at least. I don't know what I would have done if one of you came back without the other. I don't want to loose another child." This confused Shin greatly.

Another child? Alice was supposed to be an only child. He looked at Toni. She smiled. She knew nothing of who he was looking for or why.

"I'm sorry Papa. I know you were worried, and I know you miss her. I miss her too." Lucrecia looked at the ground, tears in her eyes.

"No, No. Lulu Bee, honey. I do miss Alice, honest to god I do. But I love you just as much. I can't imagine the pain you felt when she died, she was your twin after all. I've heard how twins are connected, don't know quite how it works, but I've heard. No matter how much time passes, I know you will feel the most pain from your sisters loss." He held Lucrecia close as she cried while he himself pushed back the tears.

Toni turned to Shin. Her face emanated sadness and she looked at him.

"This is was I was telling you about. 5 years ago Nee-Chan's twin sister got into an accident. Nee-Chan said that her sister was trying to protect the one she loved, and in the effort lost her own life. She pulled away from many people after that, afraid of loving anyone. She never blamed whoever it was that Alice had been protecting, for she understood her sister heart and intentions. But Nee-Chan has never quite been the same since." Toni looked at the far wall as she finished her statement.

Mr. Kreuz looked at Toni and the one she was standing next to. He then began laughing very hard, enough to the point to where those tears he held back had began leaking down his cheeks.

"Shin! My boy! What are you wearing!? You preparing to be a drag queen or something?" He was holding his stomach and laughing so loud the customers were staring at him.

Shin was shocked. He recognized him, and now his cover was blown. He looked at Lucrecia, but her face didn't hold any sign that she didn't already know this. She had this strange smile on her face while her Papa laughed at him, almost as if to say she was sorry.

By the time the man stopped laughing most of the people in the cafe had realized who Shin was and had began asking for autographs. He signed what seemed like 1000 autographs and took a few pictures with people before Mr. Kreuz had shooed everyone off.

"So, what's with the get up m'boy?" He asked.

They had migrated upstairs to the house portion of the Cafe. Lucrecia and Toni served tea and small cakes before sitting down themselves.

"Being somewhat famous, you know. Gotta keep a low profile when I'm out and about by myself." He smiled lightly as he took a sip of his tea.

"Yes, Yes. It's understandable. And I see you've meet my little girls Lulu Bee and Tonichi." He motioned towards the two girl who were sitting together watching something on T.V.

"Ja. It was quite a surprise, honestly." He looked towards Lucrecia with a sad look.

"I could imagine so. Alice and Lucrecia being identical twins and all. The only thing to put them apart being that they were mirror images of each other. I can't begin to imagine the shock when you first saw her." He smiled sadly.

The door of to the cafe opened and in walked a petite Mexican girl. She had about waist length chocolate brown hair pinned up in the back with a pencil and hazelnut brown eyes. She was wearing a simple pair of jeans, a white t-shirt that had something in Japanese written on the front with a picture of a cat, and a pair of sneakers. In one hand she carried a small bag and a sketchbook in the other.

She took off her shoes and was halfway in the room before she noticed Shin. She stopped dead in her tracks for a split second and then continued on towards the couch Toni and Lucrecia were sitting on. She took a spot next to Lucrecia and the girls curled up together.

"How did it go?" Lucrecia had asked her.

"Fairly well, actually. I might get the job." She smiled and looked towards Mr. Kreuz. "You hear that Papa? I might get the job."

"That's great!" He said.

Shin was very confused by this time. Another random girl who pops in and calls Alice's father "Papa".

"Oh, right. Usagi, this is Shin. He was Alice's best friend growing up." He motioned in Shin's direction.

"Hello. I've heard so much about you before. Not to mention you are an excellent drummer." She smiled and got up to shake his hand.

Her and Lucrecia switched couches and sat next to Shin, curled up together. Toni moved and sat on the other side of him, opposite the two.

"I am basically the third child. As Papa stated, my name is Usagi. Alice, Lulu and I have known each other since birth. Not long before Alice left I was adopted into the family. My mother was pretty abusive. The three of us were basically triplets." She smiled.

"So, why did you decide to stay in America? Why not move to Germany with Alice?" Shin didn't even know about Alice's twin, much less the adopted sister.

"When Alice left," Her smile slipped as she said her name, "I was completely torn. They were both my sisters and I loved them equally. And Mama and Papa had given me the choice of who I wanted to go with. But Alice told me that Lulu would need me more at that moment. So I stayed in America with Lucrecia." She huddled closer to Lucrecia when she finished talking.

The two of them acted like they themselves were twins. Shin wondered how life would have been with all three of them together and here.

'They would have been so happy and content together that I would never have had to be in the picture in the first place. The thought makes me sad, but Alice would have been happy with her sisters here. And as long as she was happy it would be fine if she never knew me.' He thought to himself.

"Anyhow. What are you doing out and about Shin? Shouldn't you be preparing for a show? It's already 8. The doors open in an hour." This was coming from Lucrecia.

'Preparing for a show? What is s... OH FUDGESICLES! I completely forgot about the show tonight!' Shin jumped up and grabbed his wig and stuff from the couch.

"I'm so sorry to leave this abruptly! It was good seeing you Mr. Kreuz. And good meeting the rest of you. I've got to get going!" He was in the middle of putting his shoe back on when Usagi and Lucrecia sat down next to him.

The two girls were pulling on their shoes as well, both of them had their coats on already and everything. Shin looked from one girl to the other while lacing his shoes.

"We're going to the show too. We'll drive you there." Usagi said with a smile.

Lucrecia smiled while wrapping the ties of her rocking-horse dollies around her leg. Usagi was the first to stand up. She offered her hand to Shin and then Lucrecia, seeing as it took Lucrecia the longest to finish putting on her shoes. Then the three of them raced out the door and to the show before Shin was late. 


End file.
